Cat parasite linked to schizophrenia?

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A Washington psychiatrist believes there is a link between exposure to cats in childhood and schizophrenia.

Dr. Fuller Torrey says that he has noticed that schizophrenics were more likely to have had cats when they were very young or mothers who had cats while pregnant.

Torrey told the New York Daily News that his wife thinks he is going to be killed by cat lovers. But he still believes that there is a link between early exposure to Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite found in cats, and schizophrenia.

"Not only cats, but virtually all animals carry transmissible agents, and some carry transmissible agents that have had profound implications for the human race," Torrey said.

He is now testing an antibiotic used to treat Toxoplasma gondii on schizophrenics.